Johnny Griffin

Happy Monday boys and girls! Last week we had a double dose of great news when it came to jobs! To quickly recap, we found out we have not one, but two shows opening offices here in Wilmywood next month.

First up, TNT’s Good Behavior. After shooting the pilot here in October, the producers and writers fell in love with Wilmington and our crew base. And we were all like, “Well yeah! Of course they did!”

The crew has told me on multiple occasions how great the set was, how easy it was to work with producers/writers Chad Hodge and Blake Crouch, and they bragged about the excellent quality of the show. So of course it was fingers and toes crossed for all involved for a return to our fabulous Port City. They also hoped the pilot’s director Charlotte Sieling would return as well.

Last week, TNT made the announcement that Good Behavior got the green light and will shoot 9 more episodes.

The fabulous Dale Williams will be the UPM on this project. From what I hear they plan on opening offices at the end of January and will begin shooting in the first week of March. They will be shaping up the pilot, then they will shoot nine more episodes. That will bring our NC film crew employment until around the end of June.

I caught up with our NC native, Blake Crouch, over the weekend and he had this to say:

We are absolutely thrilled and grateful for the chance to continue Good Behavior. We wouldn’t have gotten here without our tremendous Wilmington crew. We share this success with them. Can’t wait to return!

See that crew? It’s official, you are indeed that awesome!

Blake is from the Piedmont area and already has a television series on the air — the adaptation of his trilogy Wayward Pines (great read BTW). Now although Pines got a second season pickup from FOX, Chad Hodge won’t be returning to the FOX show. We get to keep him here in Wilmington.

Now as for the second series, Sixcoming from the History Channel, David Brightbill will be UPM on this one and he is “looking forward to working at home!” He is not alone. There will be quite a few folks returning home from working out of state due to the lack of productions. (Yeah, don’t even get me started about that). The latest is that Six will open offices the first week of January, get about 6 weeks of prep in and begin shooting around mid-February.

Quite a few of you have asked me about casting and crew calls. There is nothing yet. I got up with our Wilmington Film Commissioner Johnny Griffin to be sure and he said that things will probably be quiet until we get past the first of the year. Johnny is optimistic about the coming year. “2016 is looking good as we are starting off with a bang so early in the year,” he said. “The response from L.A. is a positive one from this point. ”

There is quite a bit of interest in Wilmington right now, so let’s hope we can keep the momentum going!

Howdy and Happy Tuesday! Okay let’s get started with what we reported early yesterday morning! We knew another pilot was coming to North Carolina, but now we know that YES it is indeed coming to Wilmywood. The Untitled Nikki Toscano Project written (and produced) by yes, Nikki Toscano (Revenge) will open offices in next week and will begin production on March 10!! There was some confusion whether it was NBC or CBS bringing the pilot to Wilmywood. So, I got up with Bill Vassar of EUE/Screen Gems Studios and he explains it. LISTEN NOW

Nikki Toscano

One of the Producers will be Kerry Ehrin. The drama centers on a retired CIA operative who, when a terrorist event rocks Washington, D.C., is pulled back into action, forced to investigate closer to home where the next generation of terrorists are being bred.

Nikki and Kerry worked on Bates Motel which starred Mike Vogel who stars in Under the Dome which shoots here in Wilmywood.

The Hollywood East Panel was last night at the Northeast Regional Library. The panel included Bill Vassar (EUE/ScreenGems), Johnny Griffin(Wilmington Film Commish), Vanessa Neimeyer (NCasting), and Terry Linehan (UNCW). READ STORY AT WWAY NOW

Anthony Reynolds

Our local actor, Anthony Reynolds, made the trek to Atlanta, to work on Stephen King’s latest feature, Cell. Yesterday, Anthony finished his first scene opposite John Cusack. Anthony plays a supporting character, Ray, who is haunted and jittery, a survivor who has devoted himself to killing as many Phoners as he can. He and his friend join a small band of survivors led by Clay (John Cusack) .

“He’s simply a great collaborator who brought an incredible energy to the set,” Anthony said happily. “He and ‘Kip’ (director Tod Williams) gave me free reign to explore the character that I created and run with the ball. It was an incredible ride today.”

Anthony will be shooting the rest of the week with not only Cusack but Samuel L. Jackson as well. CONGRATS!!!

Adrenalinethe movie starring John Schneider, will be filming a half day on March 8th in Willard just past Burgaw and they are looking for background extras. It will be from around 8am – 1pm. They are looking for a lot of African Americans due to the scene being in a mostly black church. This will be a non-paid day however, we will be serving lunch and everyone will get a copy of the DVD.

Producer Del Baron, said, “Plus, you can tell family & friends you were in this great faith based film. Please email me at delbaron0524@msn.com to sign up! Have a blessed day and we hope to see you on set!”

FINAL DEADLINE APPROACHING! The Cape Fear Independent Film Festival is accepting feature films and shorts in all genres. Late Deadline is February 15, 2014. The final WAB Extended Deadline is March 1st! Don’t miss your chance to win a cash prize or one of 12 Film Awards. This year’s festival runs from May 1-4, 2014. SUBMIT YOUR FILM NOW

That just about does it for me; I will have more Wilmywood updates for you tomorrow morning (unless something breaks) and every weekday morning we do “What’s Up in Wilmywood” at 7:30am & 8:30am LIVE on Sunny 104.5. Got Scoop? Email me: sheila_brothers@yahoo.com. Or message me on Wilmywood’s FB or on Twitter. You can also just post your comments below! Until then, that’s a wrap!!

Well, it looks like not only will North Carolina see Max Steel, but we will also see, Max! Get ready dog lovers, here comes a family adventure from MGM Studios, Sunswept Entertainment and Picture 8 Productions. This family adventure film is inspired by true events.

A Belgian Shepard Malinois military working dog returns from active service in Afghanistan traumatized by his handler’s death. Erratic and dangerous, Max is adopted by the bereaved family and bonds with the marine’s troubled 14-year old brother. Together they unravel the secret behind his brother’s death and pull a family together again.

Although we cannot confirm if it will shoot in Wilmington, we can say it will be NC proud. Production begins May 5th and will wrap around June 20th. Release date is set for 2015. Producing is Karen Rosenfelt (Percy Jackson / Twilight). Writer/Director/EP is Boaz Yakin. This is Yakin’s first family film since Remember The Titans. He most recently wrote Now You See Me, which our Sleepy Hollow buddies Kurtzman and Orci produced.

Do we have them to thank for bragging about North Carolina and bringing Max here? If that is the case, Now You See Me 2 begins production in September and we can all hope that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci bring that production here, too.

And speaking our buddies, it looks like we can expect to branch out when it comes to the small town of Wilmington, aka Sleepy Hollow. TV Guide reports that the producers are ready to get Ichabod Crane out of his comfort zone in season 2; not that he has been completely comfortable with new technology and Starbucks on every block. “He’s been in this town the whole time and he’s adapted very well, but I’d like to see his reaction the first time he gets on an airplane,” Orci says. “We were joking that he thinks, ‘Oh, are we driving all the way there in this thing?’ And then the plane takes off. Imagine seeing the White House and all the stuff that he never got to see that are the fruit of his labor and his sacrifice. Things like that will blow his mind.” READ ARTICLE NOW

Continuing with ties and undecided locations, George Parra is working on the feature film Risk that is going to begin production this summer. It would be nice to see him come back a third time as he produced two films here: A Good Old Fashion Orgy and The Squeeze.

Now onto Max Steel, congrats to David Grace, he has been named Line Producer for Mattel’s flick, produced by Bill O’Dowd and Julia Pistor (Spiderwick Chronicles). Writer is Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World) Director: Stewart Hendler.

The story revolves around 16 year old Max McGrath (Ben Winchell) who discovers that he’s got a strange electric energy that emanates from him when he’s upset or excited, and it’s starts to grow beyond his control. With his scientist father dead and his mom Molly unwilling to talk about what really happened in the accident that killed him, Max is resigned to trying to fit in to yet another new school–where he finds himself attracted to the quirky, independent-minded Sydney (Ana Villafane) and develops a friendship with an old colleague of his dad’s, Miles Edwards. But the most startling thing that happens to Max is the arrival of a small, crab-like alien named Steel, whose memory may be faulty but who knows one thing for certain: he’s there to protect Max, and he’s been sent by Max’s father.

Nikki Toscano

Moving on to another TV pilot. CBS is bringing another pilot to North Carolina. Currently it is a Untitled Nikki Toscano Project written (and produced) by yes, Nikki Toscano (Revenge). They are currently set to begin production March 17th. Producer will be Kerry Ehrin. The drama centers on a retired CIA operative who, when a terrorist event rocks Washington, D.C., is pulled back into action, forced to investigate closer to home where the next generation of terrorists are being bred. No word yet on whether this production will be in Wilmington.

REMINDER: “Hollywood East” panel, hosted by the New Hanover County Public Library is tonight at 6pm Northeast Regional Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road.

The panel includesg Bill Vassar (EUE ScreenGems), Johnny Griffin (Wilmington Film Commish), Vanessa Neimeyer (NCasting), and Terry Linehan (UNCW). They will be talkin’ a little about everything. This is not a rally for the incentives, but it will be a nice chance to chat with everyone.

Plus, our friends from Basecamp Luxe will be on hand with one of the three Vintage Airstream trailers that are available for rent for TV/Film productions. If you haven’t seen them, here’s your opportunity! They are AWESOME!

Enjoy a night of international cuisine inspired by the countries in which we work, the world beats of Axiom, and a wide array of both live and silent auction items from all over the world. See our award-winning inventions, and learn more about our expanding mission to benefit rural communities around the world.

MORE: The Full Belly Project empowers rural communities by designing and distributing income-generating agricultural devices to improve life. We want to share our efforts in developing local businesses, increasing household incomes, combating hunger, and benefiting the environment.

That just about does it for me; I will have more Wilmywood updates for you tomorrow morning (unless something breaks) and every weekday morning we do “What’s Up in Wilmywood” at 7:30am & 8:30am LIVE on Sunny 104.5. Got Scoop? Email me: sheila_brothers@yahoo.com. Or message me on Wilmywood’s FB or on Twitter. You can also just post your comments below! Until then, that’s a wrap!!

Major rumors are swirling about the NC Film Crew. Apparently, they deserve kudos and candy canes. The locations department of Sleepy Hollow decided to give back this year to complete strangers. They took donations from the hundreds of crew members working on Sleepy Hollow, every department, and together they raised $1000! They headed to Toys R Us and played Secret Santa, secretly paying off 18 layaway plans at the toy store. I called the production office for confirmation. As an added bonus, the store manager informed one of the crew members that Toys R Us is also going to make a matching donation to Toys For Tots! Now if that doesn’t inspire you to pay it forward, dunno what will!

The ratings for last night’s episode of Sleepy Hollow will come out later today – I will give you the full report in a separate blog on how The Golem performed. The Sleepyheads are running two units, both filming on the lot today.

Cutie Pie, Hunter, with Wilm on Film, released the Under the Dome dates. Looks like they will open offices on January and production will begin in March. And for the record, give some kudos to Hunter. He is a lot like me, underpaid, an army of one and collecting a lot of great production news. Ha! You go boy!

Reminder: I know I’ve talked about this a lot, but it has been a while. If you got a really cool or interesting property, and think it would be a great location for film, contact the Wilmington Film Commission at (910) 343-3456 or commish@wilmingtonfilm.com. Properties can be anything from a large lot, warehouse, barn to a farm, restaurant, shop, or simply your house.

Don’t be confused, yes there is a second petition for you to sign. They decided we should have a petition that focused strictly on ending the sunset. I agree, so yes you have one more petition to sign, but as you know it only takes 20 seconds or less to do so! SIGN PETITION NOW!

Encore is doing the “Best of” issue again and I sure would LOVE YOU if you voted for The Wilmywood Daily for “BEST BLOG!” Nominations end December 12th! And hey if you wanna nominate Sheila Brothers for “Best Local Radio Personality,” I won’t mind that either! Ha! But hey, yes indeed, it is not all about me or the blog, make sure you vote for “Favorite Filmmaker” whoever you love here in Wilmywood. We got a lot of incredible local filmmakers in this town! They are all on page 3 under “arts, entertainment and media.”VOTE NOW!

Shop the Wilmywood T-shirt Shop! Deadline for orders to arrive before Christmas is set for December 13. 3 DAYS LEFT!SHOP NOW!

That just about does it for me; I will have more Wilmywood updates for you tomorrow morning (unless something breaks) and every weekday morning we do “What’s Up in Wilmywood” at 7:30am & 8:30am LIVE on Sunny 104.5. Got Scoop? Email me: sheila_brothers@yahoo.com. Or message me on Wilmywood’s FB . You can also just post your comments below! Until then, that’s a wrap!!